ACS Citation

Abstract

The study of self-assembled mono- and multilayers has advanced rapidly in recent years. One promising area that has received little attention to date is the assembly of molecular "devices" on the surface of electrically conducting polymers. We previously developed an effective coating procedure for attachment of various alkane thiols to the surface of thin films of polyaniline, polypyrrole, polythiophene and poly(ethylenedioxy-thiophene) which were electrochemically grown on indium-tin oxide-coated (ITO) glass plates. Similarly, alkane thiols that are derivatized at the terminal end with a porphyrin also assemble on polymer surfaces. The use of porphyrins containing an acetylene "handle" trans to the thiol enables the sequential attachment of additional porphyrin units, leading to oligomeric arrays. Similar arrays can be constructed on polystyrene resins. This is useful for preparing larger quantities of the oligomers for characterization and for optimizing the solid-phase reaction parameters. If necessary, chromophores can be assembled on the polystyrene resins and then transferred to other polymers that might be sensitive to some of the reactions used in the synthesis of arrays.